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A while back, some websites said the Tesla Semi would go into production soon. What these people miss is that such rumors are tantamount to saying that a building is being built without its foundation. In the case of Tesla, the foundation equates to 4680 cells, and the company said – again – at the second quarter 2020 presentation that its teams “have work to do” before they can “reach mass production.” Tesla clearly skipped the gun when it decided to base all of its future products on the 4680 cells. The Cybertruck, Semi, Roadster, and the Austin and Grünheide-made Model Y will all use a structural battery pack made with these batteries. To use them as the basis for these products, Tesla had to make sure they were available on time.
When presenting its financial results for the second quarter of 2020, the company said it had successfully validated “the performance and lifespan” of the 4680 cells manufactured in Kato and that “in-house crash tests” of the “structural package architecture with a one-piece front casting” were successful. “This is exactly what is missing in the picture above, which shows the Model Y, which is manufactured at Giga Austin.
According to Tesla, production is currently “10% of the manufacturing processes”. Experts believe this has to do with DBE (dry battery electrode), something Tesla Maxwell bought for back in February 2019. Tesla announced on July 22nd that it had sold Maxwell but kept its dry electrode technology.
Whether or not this is holding back the 4680 cells, Tesla admits they aren’t ready just yet. Given that all future vehicles are dependent on these batteries, all plans are on hold. The production of Semi, Cybertruck, Roadster and Model Y as well as the commissioning of Giga Austin and Giga Grünheide in 2021 rely on the new batteries.
In a way, it may be convenient that the German bureaucracy is still denying Tesla a final building permit for its factory there. This type of distraction can lead people to think that the main problem is outside of Tesla. Running before you can run only works if you have feet. In the case of Tesla, the 4680 batteries.
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